Watchdog group sues governor and Senate president

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2008 at 11:05 AM

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Illinois Senate President Emil Jones are violating the state’s Freedom of Information Act by refusing to divulge information about pork-barrel spending, according to two lawsuits filed Thursday in Sangamon County.

Adriana Colindres

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Illinois Senate President Emil Jones are violating the state’s Freedom of Information Act by refusing to divulge information about pork-barrel spending, according to two lawsuits filed Thursday in Sangamon County.

Judicial Watch, based in Washington, D.C., says it wants Blagojevich and Jones to release details about how more than $2 billion in lump-sum member-initiative funds are being spent.

State budgets in Illinois sometimes include so-called "lump sums" for certain types of projects that benefit lawmakers’ districts. But budget documents don’t always spell out the individual projects or exactly how much money is being spent on each.

Paul Orfanedes, Judicial Watch’s litigation director, said at a Capitol news conference Thursday that his organization has filed FOIA requests with the governor’s office and Jones’ office to get information about member-initiative spending.

Those efforts proved fruitless. The governor’s office never responded, and Jones’ office said any such records would belong to the individual legislator, Orfanedes said.

Joe Calomino, director of Americans for Prosperity-Illinois, joined Orfanedes at the news conference and said that his group has worked with Judicial Watch in filing FOIA requests. AFPI’s chairman and senior adviser is multi-millionaire Ron Gidwitz, a onetime GOP candidate for Illinois governor.

Calomino said that no lawsuit was filed against the Illinois House of Representatives because that chamber has provided information about member-initiative spending.

Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer said Senate lawyers are reviewing the lawsuit against Jones, which they just received. She had no further comment.

Blagojevich spokesman Brian Williamsen said the governor’s office has not yet seen the suit against Blagojevich.

Judicial Watch describes itself as a not-for-profit, educational organization that promotes accountability in government by using "open records" laws to obtain and distribute public documents. It frequently sues to try to get information.

About six years ago, Judicial Watch went to court to get access to records of a task force, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, that drafted the Bush administration’s energy policy. An appeals court eventually said the vice president didn’t have to disclose what advice his task force received from executives or others associated with the energy industry.

Judicial Watch also filed several lawsuits against President Bill Clinton’s administration when he was in office.

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.